GTX285 or 4870X2

Westyfield2 · 29 Jul 2009 at 15:20

It's new graphics card time for one of the rigs, and I've got it down to:

Zotac GeForce GTX 285 AMP! Edition 1024MB GDDR3 (Includes Terminator Salvation PC Game) - £244.98

XFX ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 - £242.98

So.. they're both the same price, which do I chose?

If they are 100% the same performance I'll go for the 4870X2, for the Crossfire'ing potential of adding another later (also I've already got 2x 4870X2's in another rig so 'trust' them.... bought back last year when they were £££!).

Votes / Opinions (and facts hopefully!) either way appreciated...

davetrace1 · 29 Jul 2009 at 15:22

4870x2

The Asgard · 29 Jul 2009 at 15:27

You will get less hassle and consistent performance with the 285.
It will be quieter, run cooler and use less power at idle.

DavyBoy · 29 Jul 2009 at 15:27

If I already owned 2 4870X2's I would get an nVidia card this time around...

Then you can have PhysX ability in the games that support it..

I personally prefer nVidia cards, but tbh I haven't used any of the recent ATI cards.. I might grab a 4890 for my fiancees build though as they are cheap enough...

If you do go for nVidia, you would probably be just as well as picking up a GTX275 instead of the 285 though as they give close to the same performace, and you will save yourself some money as well...

dr4g0nf1y · 29 Jul 2009 at 16:03

GPU's I'm completely out of date with, but you're comparing GDDR5 2048mb to GDDR3 1024mb RAM.

That's not really a competition is it, The PhysX shouldn't be worth the difference?

That's why I'm finding it difficult at the moment to upgrade mine. Most Nvidea seem to be 896mb so with what I have it seems like a step back.

layte · 29 Jul 2009 at 16:16

Which ever performs the best in the games you play/plan to play at your resolution of choice.

TheRealDeal · 29 Jul 2009 at 17:18

As you already have 2 4870x2 and trust them then get another as in speed terms they are much faster than a gtx285. As you will know the 4870x2 competes with the gtx295 not the slower gtx285 which is more 4890 performance than 4870x2.

Bhamid · 29 Jul 2009 at 19:21

The 285 will have less compatibility issues and have a lower power consumption = quieter, but the 4870 X2 easily beats it in terms of gaming performance.

Darrensen · 29 Jul 2009 at 21:10

Personally i would go for a 275. 285 is not worth the extra dosh imo.

Bhamid · 29 Jul 2009 at 21:15

How come the 275 has higher power needs than the 285?

derkaderka · 30 Jul 2009 at 10:24

285

I went gtx280 -> 4870x2 -> gtx280

Less compatability problems , smoother gaming

layte · 30 Jul 2009 at 10:29

Put one of your X2's in this machine and hold onto your cash for the DX11 cards which are coming. Personally I would not drop £250ish on a card that will be old hat in a few months.

MoRT489 · 30 Jul 2009 at 11:04

If u do go for the GTX 285 why not get the Asus at £229 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-190-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1341

Geckovich · 30 Jul 2009 at 11:29

I'd have to say 285/275.

I had 4870s in crossfire (so pretty much a 4870x2) and then switched to a gtx280. Though the crossfired cards were powerful, the single card was just a lot less hassle, quieter, cooler running and more consistent framerates over several games.

Westyfield2 · 30 Jul 2009 at 11:58

layte said:
Put one of your X2's in this machine

The X2's in the other machine are not to be touched.... I built and 'maintain' it but it's not mine to go nicking parts from.

What's these compatibly problems that keep being mentioned? Is it just some applications (games) will only use one of it's GPU's or is it something else?

Geckovich · 30 Jul 2009 at 12:05

Yeah, pretty much just that crossfire wont be utilised all the time so half your GPU power will be idle.

For me Tf2 actually ran slower with 2 cards than with one, issues such as that.

domthecondom · 30 Jul 2009 at 12:24

Zotac GeForce GTX 285 AMP! Edition 1024MB GDDR3 apprently the fastest single card avaiable

theforce · 30 Jul 2009 at 12:50

With ATI's new cards coming out really soon l would wait and see what the new generation cards offer before buying anything.

MoRT489 · 30 Jul 2009 at 13:09

It's not really that soon for the high end cards...

layte · 30 Jul 2009 at 13:20

Westyfield2 said:
What's these compatibly problems that keep being mentioned? Is it just some applications (games) will only use one of it's GPU's or is it something else?

I like to play the 'what card have they listed in their sig' game when people make such broad statements. Asking this particular question always seems to be a minefield of conflicting information. I would always suggesting taking any advice here with a pinch of salt and go read up some recent benchmarks.

This is one I found using the most recent driver releases from both camps, although it only uses the 275 and 295 from the green team, the 275 performs with a similar margin to the 285 that 285 numbers can easily be worked out. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/windows7-drivers.html